The Other Families
by Rebelbecks41319
Summary: Kate Beckett has to show a new Detective the ropes of the job and both women quickly realize that they have a lot more in common than they originally thought. (In addition to Family and Mystery I'd say also Crime and some Humor)
1. Chapter 1

**Hey Everyone:)**

**I haven't written anything in a while so I might be a little rusty...;), but I really hope you like this and I appreciate any and all reviews.**

**This is set a few months after In the Belly of the Beast (6x17). Anything right before and after that is pretty much AU.**

**Disclaimer: I DON'T own anything you might recognize. **

**Enjoy.**

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"Why do I have to chaperon that new detective?" Beckett asked annoyed as she stood in Gates' office. She had been called into the captain's office the moment she stepped off the elevator that morning. The week had started out so well. The team had closed a big high profile case on friday and Gates was so grateful, although she didn't exactly phrase it like that, that she'd given them four days off. It was wednesday and she was happy to get back to work, but that didn't mean she wanted to babysit some rookie detective.

"Listen detective, you are going to do this because you are the best in the entire precinct, maybe in the entire NYPD and because you two have a lot in common. She can learn a lot from you." Gates said determined. She knew Beckett wasn't going to like it, but she also knew that, as much as it pained her to admit it, Beckett was the best.

"She?" Kate asked surprised. She hadn't expected it to be a woman. Then again it kind of made sense. She'd been the youngest woman to make detective in the NYPD and now it was her turn to show a younger detective the ropes.

"Yes. She's a year older than you were when you made detective. She was the best in her year at the academy. There is huge potential there and there is no one more qualified than you to do this." Kate had to hide a smirk, because it obviously took a lot for her captain to say those things to her.

"Fine." Kate sighed. It couldn't be that bad right?!

"Good. She gets here this afternoon. Just show her how it's done, okay?!" Gates said more quietly. Kate nodded and left the office.

"What's going on?" Castle asked the moment she reached her desk. He knew it was rarely good when she had to go into the captain's office. Even worse when he knew for a fact that he wasn't the cause.

"New detective coming in this afternoon. I have to ‚show her how it's done'. Apparently 'we have a lot in common'." Beckett told him.

"Oh." He knew how much things like that annoyed her. Castle also knew that Kate had realized that she was once in the same position so she couldn't really blame anyone for having to teach some things to a new detective.

"Yeah. Look, we don't have a case right now so I'm gonna do my paperwork this morning and show her everything this afternoon. If you want to go home you should. I know you already have Paula and Gina on your back to write more and I don't want one of them calling ME again. Also, if you go home and write now, we'll have more time to ourselves when I get home tonight." She winked. She knew he didn't want to leave, even though the only thing she was going to do was boring paperwork. That last statement did everything to convince him to go, though.

"Okay. I'll go. But if you need anything. Coffee or lunch or something, call me." He told her. He looked towards Gates's office to see if she was looking and then quickly kissed Kate.

"Bye." They said together. Kate watched her fiancé leave and then got to work. She had quite a lot of paperwork to do and if she wanted to show this new detective the ropes she'd have to get it done before one pm. The day had barely begun and she already couldn't wait to go home.

After a while Ryan and Esposito came in and she told them about the new addition to their team before they all got to work. They knew it wasn't good to wish for a murder, but days filled with boring paperwork were by far the worst.

They worked all morning and stopped around noon to get some lunch. Esposito ordered Chinese and they all ate together before getting back to their desks. Kate was so engrossed in her work that she didn't notice the woman exiting the elevator and looking around before stepping into the captain's office. Only five minutes later, when Gates called her into her office, did she notice what was going on. Kate made her way across the room and entered the office.

"Detective Beckett, this is Detective Sarah Johnson. Detective Johnson, Detective Kate Beckett." Gates introduced them. Kate looked the young woman up and down. She was wearing black dress pants and a grey sweater. She also had heeled boots on. They weren't nearly as high as hers, but she guessed she was about the same height as herself. She had long dark blond hair and looked a little intimidated, but also confident.

"It's nice to meet you." Kate extended her hand and the younger woman shook it.

„You too."

"Okay. Now. Detective Johnson, you're going to be working with Beckett's team. At least for a few months. Then we'll see where you go from there. There's a chance you'll stay with them, but we'll cross that bridge when we get to it. You can go now." Both women left the office and Kate led her to her desk.

"I know this is going to sound like I'm trying to suck up, but it's really an honor to get to work with you. And I know you probably have better things to do than show me how to do my job so thank you." Sarah said a little shyly. Kate had to smile. She had a feeling she was going to like the young detective.

"It's okay. It'll be something else for a few weeks. I'm sure we'll get along." Kate had seen something else in the woman's eyes than determination. Something she had seen many times in her own. She had that haunted look that Kate had no doubt nobody else was going to pick up on. She wasn't going to ask, because Kate Beckett knew better than anyone that the younger woman would close up and not answer anyway so she let it go for now. That didn't mean she wouldn't keep an eye on her, though.

By now both Ryan and Esposito had joined them waiting impatiently to be introduced.

"Ryan, Espo, this is Sarah Johnson. She'll be working with us from now on. Detective Johnson these are detectives Esposito and Ryan." They shook hands and then Kate showed her her desk. It was pretty much right next to hers so Kate could keep an eye on Johnson's work and help when she needed it.

Beckett then showed her around the precinct. Telling her where everything was and what to use and how. They even took a trip to the morgue and introduced her to Lanie. Luckily, she wasn't working on a body so no chance for the young woman to get sick seeing an autopsy or anything. They then went back to precinct. When they got out of the elevator Kate saw that the boys weren't working, but talking to each other like they usually would when Castle was around. When they stepped off the elevator and they heard the clicking of their boss' heels they immediately went back to work hoping, in vain, that she hadn't noticed.

"So, today is not going to be very interesting, because you still have some paperwork to fill out, but tomorrow we might have a case and I'll show you what it's like to do real work." Kate told her and she smiled. Sarah was happy to work under such a nice detective. This team looked like it was focused, but could also bring the fun into working in homicide.

Sarah made her way to her desk and Beckett gave her all the forms she had to fill out. She saw the apologetic look in her eyes, but just shrugged and got to work. The sooner she was done the sooner she could do 'real work' as detective Beckett put it.

At around four she heard someone get off the elevator and make their way to Beckett's desk. It was a man. He looked really familiar, too, but she couldn't place him. He was looking at his phone and she wondered what he was doing and where he was going until he sat down in the chair next to Beckett's desk, never looking up from his phone. She frowned. Nobody on the team seemed to have noticed his appearance and that was odd, considering she had pegged Beckett for a very cautious person. Ryan and Esposito didn't seem to have noticed either. She was about to ask who he was and what he was doing, but Beckett beat her to it.

"What are you doing here?" Kate asked without even looking up. Sarah was very curious now. Nobody seemed bothered by the new presence and Beckett seemed to know him.

"Inspiration." He just stated, still looking at his phone. She was really confused now. What was going on here? She saw Beckett roll her eyes and then finally look up.

"Well, you won't find it looking at your phone, or anywhere else for that matter because we're still doing paperwork. You know that thing I told you about only a few hours ago. The same thing you usually find boring." She then watched as the man put his phone away and looked into the detective's eyes.

"There's always inspiration here." He winked. He didn't look like he'd noticed her presence yet. She was still wondering who the hell he was and what he was doing here.

"Whatever, Castle. I'm not entertaining you. And neither are the guys, cause we all have to work. And so should you, if you don't want Gina to call ME again."

"Meh. I can't. Alexis is home." Now Sarah was just listening trying to work and figure out who the mystery man was at the same time.

"So? Didn't that use to be a good thing?" Kate asked having gone back to work.

"It would be, but she brought Pi." He whined. She saw Beckett trying, and failing, to hide a smirk.

"Ahhh now I see why you're here. Nothing to do with '_inspiration_' after all. But you work in your office, why would he bother you?" Kate asked and regretted it the moment she said it.

"Are you kidding me?! Have you forgotten the 'incident' last week? I don't think so." He said almost outraged and Kate winced.

„Right. Okay fine, you can stay." Kate was actually happy to have him by her side. Not that she would tell him that. After the amazing four days they and just spent alone together it was hard to go back to work and having him leave after only a little while. She needed him there.

A few minutes later Kate realized that she hadn't introduced Castle and Johnson yet. She did and Sarah's eyes widened.

„It's really nice to meet you."

„You too. And believe me, you'll learn a lot from Detective Beckett." Castle was intrigued. That woman had something in her eyes. She reminded him a lot of the Kate Beckett he knew a few years back. The one who was so determined to get justice for the victims, but still willing to see the fun side he brought out of the job.

Just then Beckett's phone rang.

„Beckett." They had a new case.

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**Voilà.**

**This was mostly an introduction to the story, but it'll get more interesting in the next chapters so give it a chance. **

**O.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Heyooo**

**Thanks for all the follows and the reviews I got for the first chapter:) **

**Disclaimer (Applies to all chapters): I don't own ANYTHING!**

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A few weeks later the team had gotten used to having a fourth detective on the team and they were all happy with the new addition. She got along great with everybody. Castle got frustrated after a week, because the boys teased him relentlessly about the fact that Sarah Johnson had read none of his books. (She had only heard about him when she'd looked up Kate Beckett before joining the team.) Until, one day, she started randomly quoting his books. When Castle realized that, he was ecstatic. If he hadn't been too afraid of what his fiancée would do to him, he would've probably hugged the life out of her. They were having a great time, despite the fact that they worked around death all day long, of course.

It was around that time, when Beckett noticed that the younger detective always stayed later than any of them and showed up to work exhausted in the morning. She was really starting to worry about it too, especially since it reminded her of her own behavior back when she joined the force.

One night, Kate waited for everybody but Sarah to leave. She then said her goodbyes and left the bullpen, only to stick around, determined to find out what was keeping the young woman there most nights. She hid in the break room until Johnson finally left her desk about five minutes later, leaving all her stuff behind. Beckett frowned.

_What is she doing?_

She decided to follow her. Sarah entered the elevator and Beckett watched the numbers, noticing that it was going down. She took the stairs until it finally stopped in the basement. She then followed her into the storage room.

_What is she doing down here?_

She watched as Johnson made her way towards the shelf containing all the cold cases before taking a file and going to the table that stood at the back of the room. Now Beckett was even more confused.

_Why is she looking through cold cases?_

She tried not to let her thoughts go back to that time when that was her, but it seemed all too familiar. She could only hope the young detective wasn't down there for the same reasons.

After watching for a few minutes she decided to make her presence known.

"What are you doing?" She asked trying not to startle her, which she did. Sarah looked up and then quickly closed the file before getting up and walking towards where she'd gotten it from, intending to put it back. Kate stopped her.

"Uhmm nothing. Just...checking something." She lied unconvincingly.

"That's a cold case file, Sarah." Kate said softly. She knew she wouldn't get any answers by upsetting her any further.

"I know. Just...like I said...just checking something." The younger detective had no idea how she was going to get out of that one.

"You haven't worked any cold cases since you've been here." Kate then caught a glimpse of the file and saw a name and a photo. Two things she recognized. In fact, they hung with a lot of other photos of dead people in her own home on her homemade murder board.

"What are you doing with that file?!" She asked with more force this time, making Sarah wince. She sat back down at the table, the file still in hand and sighed.

"Why are you looking at that file Sarah?" Beckett asked calmer now. She couldn't afford to have Sarah close up. Kate knew all to well that it wouldn't help anyone if that happened.

"It's my mom's file." She said and Beckett wouldn't have heard her if she didn't already have her suspicions. Kate sighed. She couldn't believe this. In all her years of searching through those particular files it never occurred to her that the three other people who were killed around the same time also had families. That thought made her feel really bad. It was true though. Not once did she stop to think about all the other people who had lost someone they loved that year. All Kate ever wanted was to get justice for her mother. She was still trying.

Beckett needed to make sure she was right before she did or said anything.

„Wait here. I just need to check something." Kate walked back to the front of the room, reached for her mom's file and checked the more recent evidence report. The names in both files were the same. Bracken had had both their mother's killed. Kate was going to keep those details to herself for now. At least until she figured out exactly what Sarah knew.

"Okay, what's going on?" Kate asked as gently as she could, when she sat down next to Sarah.

"My mom was murdered fifteen years ago."

„I…I'm so sorry. I know how that feels." Kate said before she could think about it, hoping she wouldn't ask too many questions about that. Luckily she didn't, too distracted by the file in her hands to think about anything. All Beckett could do was wait. Wait for Sarah to open up about it herself. She wouldn't push it.

„I've always wanted to become a cop. Every since I was a little girl. My mom died when I was only twelve. It made me grow up a lot faster than I should've had to and it also made me want to be a cop even more. When I was old enough to really understand it, my dad told me that her murder had been random. Gang violence. Which to me, meant nobody had even bothered to look any further than that. No evidence, no case, right?! That's why I'm here. I need to find something, anything to make them reopen her case."

„Have you found anything?" Sarah's head shot up. She didn't expect Beckett to listen or even care, let alone ask if she had any new evidence.

„All I know for a fact, is that two other people were killed the same way at around the same time. You'd think that would get at least somebody to listen to me, but no. The last time I brought it up to another cop, they took one look at it and told me it was too random. I'm really tired of hearing that word."

Kate went home worried and feeling guilty that night. _How could I just sit there and listen as a member of my own team talked about the tragic thing that happened to her mom, without telling her she could stop looking for who did it? _Deep down she knew she had done the right thing. Kate needed to think this through before talking to Sarah about it. What she needed to do most, was talk to Castle.

„Hey, I was starting to think you'd gone back to your place? Why'd you stay so… Is everything okay?" Castle was sitting on the couch with his laptop writing, when he heard the door open. One look at Kate's face told him something was wrong.

„We have a problem."

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**Voilà. **

**I hope you liked it. Again, I love reviews! Good or bad, don't hesitate to leave one;-)**

**O.**


	3. Chapter 3

**I'm sorry for the delay. **

**Enjoy.**

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_„Hey, I was starting to think you'd gone back to your place? Why'd you stay so… Is everything okay?" Castle was sitting on the couch with his laptop writing, when he heard the door open. One look at Kate's face told him something was wrong._

_„We have a problem."_

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„What's going on?" Castle immediately put the laptop away and met her halfway, worried.

„Johnson."

„What about her?" He was really confused now. What could've happened?

„God Castle, I'm such a terrible person. I go on and on about how much I want…need to get justice for my mom. It defined who I was for so many years and I must've read those case files a hundred times and yet, I never even considered what those murders did to other people. To everybody who lost someone they loved. I was too busy looking for my mother's killer to even think about the other families. What kind of person does that make me? I've been so selfish."

„Kate, calm down." he took her in her arms and hugged her tightly. Castle led them back to the couch and sat them down. He had no idea where this was all coming from. Much less what any of this had to do with Detective Johnson.

„You are one of the least selfish people I know, Kate. Yes, for many years you looked for your mom's killer without letting go, but look at what you've been doing ever since. Getting other people the justice you never got. Kate, that's admirable, not selfish. You may not have thought about the other families, but the day you get Bracken, will also be the day they get justice for what happened. Kate, what does that have to do with Johnson?"

„She's Diane Cavanaugh's daughter." Kate said looking down.

„Wha…how do you know?" To say he was shocked would be an understatement.

„I was wondering why she always stays late at the precinct so I stuck around to see what she was doing. She went to the basement. My god, it was like seeing myself years ago. She was looking through the file like I used to. I asked her what she was doing. That's when I saw the photo in that file. Then she told me she was looking into her mother's murder. What are we gonna do, Castle?"

„I don't know."

„What we do know is, she has to stop working on the case now. If she finds something and starts poking around, Bracken will find out and we both know what happens then." Kate leaned back on the couch with a sigh.

„Kate, she needs to know. For her own safety."

„I know, I just…how am I supposed to tell her?"

„Well, she hasn't been at the 12th for long, so there's no way she already knows too much, if anything at all. The only people who do know everything about this case are you, Esposito and Ryan and me. I think we should let them know so we can talk about it and then we'll tell Sarah together." Castle suggested.

„Yeah, you're right, let's do that."

Beckett and Castle decided to get to work early that morning, knowing Espo and Ryan would already be there and Johnson wouldn't be in until later. After talking about it and weighing all the options they decided that Beckett and Castle would tell Sarah what she needed to know.

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„Not that I don't appreciate the invite, but what exactly am I doing here? " Sarah had been surprised when Beckett asked her to come by Castle's place after work, but she just figured she wanted to talk to her about that night in the basement in private. Johnson hoped she wasn't in too much trouble for that. Gates hadn't said anything so that hopefully meant she was off the hook. At least that's what she thought.

Castle looked over to Kate and nodded at her.

„It's about the case you were looking at the other night. You need to stop!" The words were out before Kate could stop them. She hadn't meant to be so harsh, but she did need to get her point across.

„What?! Why? What difference does it make if I look into it or not?" Sarah was getting angry. Why would Kate tell her that? _She doesn't even know what she's talking about._

„What have you found so far?" Castle asked calmly, sensing that Kate needed to think about exactly how and how much she wanted to tell her.

„What have I…not much, just that it might not have been as random as it was made out to be. I found out that three other people died exactly the same way at around the same time. The only weird thing right now is that I only know the names of two of those people. For some reason I don't think that's a coincidence." Now she was beyond confused. There was no apparent reason for them to be asking her those questions.

„It's not a coincidence. Her name was Johanna Beckett."

„How do you…wait, Beckett?" Now this conversation was starting to make some sense. What she was still wondering was why she'd have to stop looking into it.

„My mom. I understand how you feel Sarah. I know that all you want is justice and you don't want to stop until you find something, but this is way bigger than you could ever imagine. I looked into her case for years. Every free second of my days was spent looking through those files. It took me a year of therapy to understand that it was going to destroy me if I didn't stop. I can't let that to happen to you, or anyone else for that matter, but that's not the only reason you need to stop."

„Then, why?" This was it. Kate had to decide how much she would let the younger woman know. Quickly. She couldn't tell her everything, but if she intentionally left out important details, like who's behind it, Sarah wouldn't stop looking. She needed to know the reason why it was better for her safety to stop looking altogether.

„Because we know what happened and who's behind the whole thing."

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**Voilà. **

**Hope you liked it:-) I loooove Reviews*HintHint*! **

**I wish everybody wonderful holidays! Merry Christmas and a happy new year.**

**O.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Heyooooo everybody! **

**Inspiration struck and I'm finally back. And not updating without at least the next chapter already written so no long wait betewen chapters...I hope. Anyway...**

**Enjoy.**

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_„Because we know what happened and who's behind the whole thing."**  
**_

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„You what?! Who?!" If they knew who it was, why hadn't they put his ass in jail yet?

„Before I tell you who, you need to understand that you can't go looking for him the moment I tell you his name. He has influence in this country like you wouldn't believe. Pretty much everybody who went up against him ended up dead, so we need to tread very carefully. Only four people know about what he did. Everybody else even remotely connected to this case died. I need you to understand that, because I'm not losing anyone else to this case. Promise me you won't do anything stupid. Please." Kate knew she was practically begging at this point, but she couldn't bear losing anyone else because of Bracken. Sarah hadn't been on their team for long, but she saw so much of herself in the younger detective that she felt the urge to protect her from making the same mistakes she did.

Johnson finally realized how serious this actually was. „Okay. I promise."

Kate looked at Castle and then back at her.

„Senator William Bracken." Sarah paled as her jaw dropped. She couldn't believe it. Not only was he powerful, but there was a good chance the guy could be president one day. Surprisingly, she didn't want to run straight at him right now. On the contrary, she wanted to know what they could do to stop him by the book, so as not to risk him getting away again.

„Can you prove it?" was the first question she asked. Kate and Castle were surprised by her reaction. Kate was a little proud, too. Sarah turned out to be a lot calmer than she was when she found out. Telling her they couldn't do anything right then might change that, though.

„We can't. We know what he did, how he did it and who was involved, but unfortunately right now we can't actually prove most of it. The only real proof we had literally went up in flames." Castle said calmly, but still sounding angry. He couldn't get over the fact that his soon-to-be wife had to live in a world where she couldn't put the man who had her mother and so many other people she cared about killed in prison.

„Can you tell me everything you DO have?"

„Of course. But it doesn't leave this room, okay?" She nodded and Kate started talking. She told her about what happened with Pulgatti, the three dirty cops including Montgomery, Coonan and everything in between. Castle took over when she got to the part about Montgomery's funeral. He told her about Vulcan Simmons, Lockwood and Maddox and then Kate went on to tell her about what happened with Bracken and the undercover case that was still so fresh on her mind.

„Now we're even. I saved his life once and now he saved mine. He knows we don't have anything solid on him so he can do whatever he wants. And since he's on the way to becoming president he's gonna start tying loose ends soon."

„Loose ends meaning…"

„Us. And I'm sorry to have to say this, but also you if you're not careful. So don't do anything without talking about it with us first, okay?!" Castle took her hand, knowing that after telling every little detail of her story she needed the comfort.

„Of course. God, I can't believe everything you've had to go through to get to this point. Is there anything we can do right now?" She watched as Castle and Beckett looked at each other before turning back to her.

„Honestly, not much. We have eyes on some people and their credit cards, but other than that, and I hate to say this, all we can do is wait. Wait for either Simmons or Bracken to make a mistake and lead us to the other somehow." Sarah nodded. She understood, but that didn't mean she had to like it. Beckett was really proud at that point. She had to admit that she didn't think the younger woman would handle this so well. One thing she saw, too, was the hope Sarah still had in her eyes, hope that they'd arrest Bracken and/or Simmons soon. Kate had started to lose that hope, but now she was slowly getting it back. They needed to find something and finally end this.

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Castle and Beckett were lying on the couch that night watching a movie, neither really focused on what was going on on the screen. Sarah had left a little while ago and they were both still thinking about the case. Kate had really thought she'd made peace with the fact that they weren't anywhere near closing the case, but now that she finally realized that she wasn't the only person who lost a parent because of Bracken, her will to end this was even stronger. Only this time she'd do this right. For everybody's sake.

Castle was thinking the same thing. They needed to find a lead. He needed for Kate to finally feel safe in this world, or at least as safe as she could being a cop. They were going to get married, wanted to make a family together. The author knew, though, that his fiancée wouldn't want to bring a child into this world as long as the danger was still so great. BUT tonight wasn't the time to have that conversation, or even to be thinking about it. They had other things to worry about.

Just then Kate's phone rang. They looked at each other and frowned. It was already 1a.m. Who would be calling at this hour?!

„Beckett." she answers.

„Ms. Beckett, this is Charly, your next door neighbor." The old man told her.

„Oh, hi. Wha-…What's going on?" Now she was worried. If her neighbor was calling her at this hour there must be something really wrong.

„The cops are here. I'm not exactly sure what happened, but it looks like your apartment's been ransacked."

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**Voilà.**

**Next ****chapter will be posted within a few days. **

**Take a sec to let me know what you think. I'm always open to suggestions, especially when I'm stuck;)**

**O.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Helloo**

**I'm back. I know I keep saying that, but this time I know exactly what I wanna write next. Haven't had much inspiration in the last few months, but it's coming back:) I also haven't loved season 8 so far, but it looks like it's slowly getting better. I mean look at last episode... Beckett at the academy? That was awesome. I loved it! **

**ANYWAY...**

**Little reminder: I don't own anything...blablabla, English isn't my first language and any mistakes and typos are mine.**

**Enjoy.**

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_**Previously**:_

_Just then Kate's phone rang. They looked at each other and frowned. It was already 1a.m. Who would be calling at this hour?!_

_„Beckett." she answers. _

_„Ms. Beckett, this is Charly, your next door neighbor." The old man told her. _

_„Oh, hi. Wha-…What's going on?" Now she was worried. If her neighbor was calling her at this hour there must be something really wrong._

_„The cops are here. I'm not exactly sure what happened, but it looks like your apartment's been ransacked."_

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„They know. There's no other explanation for this." Kate said as she looked around her apartment. Whoever had done this had really gone at it. No couch-cushion had been left unturned. Whatever the person who did this had been looking for, they'd definitely looked everywhere. The question now was; what the hell had they been looking for? And which one of Bracken's people had done it?

„Could be a coincidence." Castle suggested. Beckett shot him a look that clearly said _Are you kidding me right now?! _„Yeah, you're right. But, I mean...how? How would they know that we were looking into the case again? Which, by the way, we haven't even really started doing yet. The only thing that happened is Johnson looking through her mother's files. That's it. That couldn't have tipped anybody off, right?!" Kate sighed.

„I don't know anymore, Castle. We always thought someone at the precinct had to be on his payroll, but still, this is weird. Johnson always went to the basement late at night. Nobody was at the precinct anymore during those hours. It doesn't make any sense." They continued to look around the apartment after CSU left, but nothing seemed to be missing.

„You think they found what they were looking for?" Castle asked after a while.

„I don't know. I can't think of anything they could've been looking for. I don't have much of anything left here about the case that isn't public knowledge already so I really have no idea what's left for them to find." She sat on the couch, leaned back and closed her eyes. Castle joined her and took her hand.

„We'll figure this out, Kate. We will."

„I hope so." She said sounding defeated.

„Maybe we should take another look at this place. CSU might have missed something." Castle suggested. He knew it was a long shot, since they rarely missed anything, but something had to be done. He couldn't bear to just sit there anymore and do nothing, waiting for someone to mess up somewhere.

„That's highly unlikely."

„I know, but if they haven't missed anything maybe we'll come across what whoever did this was looking for." Castle told her

„Yeah you're right. Let's do it." Kate said with newfound hope and they got to work. For the next hour Beckett and Castle looked everywhere. That included the bedroom, the bathroom, the kitchen, the living room and literally every other surface in the apartment, from the floor to the ceiling and nothing. The only thing they did find that neither had ever seen before was an old audio tape. It was small and Castle found it amongst some of the things Kate owned as a child in one of the boxes in her closet. It was marked „Various" and had a heart drawn with the initials JB next to it. Kate figured it had some songs on it that had meant something to her parents and it had gotten mixed up in her stuff by accident. She'd have to give that back to her father the next time she saw him.

Castle was sitting on the couch and Beckett was just about to give up looking herself, when she noticed something on the picture frame that she was going to put back on the shelf. There, right between the frame and the picture itself was a bug. It was really small and could've easily been missed, but it was definitely there.

„Castle!" She called. He heard the urgency in her voice and got up quickly to find her in the bedroom.

„What's going on?" She was standing there, the frame in one hand and the bug in the other looking at him with wide eyes.

„Someone bugged the apartment." She whispered, figuring that whoever had put the bug there was still listening. They couldn't know she'd found it.

„What?! Are you s...there's no w...I mean…how?" Kate motioned for him to follow her. She left the bug on her bed and they went to the living room.

„I don't know. I really haven't been here that often in the last few weeks. They could've been listening for months and I wouldn't know anything about it. This place isn't exactly Fort Knox. The loft is probably clear though. Much harder to break into." Kate sighs.

„Yeah, but not impossible. I mean look at Tyson." Castle was getting really tired of people breaking into their places. First Scott Dunn plants a bomb and blows up Beckett's apartment, then Tyson plants evidence in the loft to frame him for murder and now this. It had to stop.

„You're right. When we get to loft we'll sweep for bugs and if we find any well- I don't know right now, but we'll cross that bridge when we get to it.

„Alright, let's go." Castle got up and made his way to the door, but Kate stopped him.

„Wait. I'm just gonna pack a few things to take with me. That way I don't have to come back here for at least a week. Leaves us a little time to figure out where the bug comes from." Kate said and made her way to her bedroom. Castle was left smiling behind her. They were going to figure all this out. Together.

In the bedroom Kate quickly packed a bag and took a few pictures of the bug, knowing she couldn't take it with her without risking whoever had put it there figuring out they had found it.

Kate walked back into the living room and Castle asked her whether she had taken the tape with her, considering they were having dinner with her father the next day.

"I did." They left the apartment, locking up behind them. Clean-up could wait a day or two. It was already five a.m by the time Beckett and Castle were done sweeping the loft and they were both exhausted. Good thing she had the day off.

Early that morning they fell asleep in each other's arms and temporarily let go of all their worries.

* * *

**Voilà.**

**Is it THE tape? Who bugged the place? What did they hear? **

**I know where I'm going with this, but I'm not sure how far I wanna drag it out yet so bear with me. It might all be out in the open in the next chapter or it could go one for a few more chapters. **

**Reviews would definitely help me decide... I know *eyeroll* someone fishing for reviews again. but they do help so don't be shy. Please;)**

**O.**


	6. Chapter 6

** I don't know much about listening devices so if something is inaccurate...well...my bad. I also noticed that I haven't mentioned Martha or Alexis in a while so lets just pretend it's the weekend and they decided to get out of town for a few days. Spa retreat or something (I could actually use one of those at some point:)). **

**Enjoy.**

* * *

**_Previously:_**

_"I did." They left the apartment, locking up behind them. Clean-up could wait a day or two. It was already five a.m by the time Beckett and Castle were done sweeping the loft and they were both exhausted. Good thing she had the day off._

_Early that morning they fell asleep in each other's arms and temporarily let go of all their worries._

* * *

After the long night they had spent looking for, and luckily not finding, bugs, Beckett and Castle slept in. It was a few minutes past noon when Kate finally woke up. She couldn't remember sleeping so late in decades. She stretched and noticed that the other side of the bed was empty, but not yet cold. The strong smell of coffee that suddenly invaded the bedroom told her that her fiancé was most likely in the kitchen, where she joined him after quickly going to the bathroom.

„Well finally. I was starting to think you'd never get up." Castle grinned at her as he handed her a hot cup of coffee.

„Oh shut up. You've been up what…? Just long enough to make coffee?" he smiled at her and she kissed him lightly before going to sit on the couch, Castle in tow.

„So, where do we start?" Rick asked after a few minutes of silence. Day off my ass. They had so much to do. Between informing the Ryan, Esposito and Johnson of what had happened and having dinner with her dad, they still needed to figure out where that bug came from and what they could've been looking for. Castle already knew that Kate was going to be reluctant to go to dinner since they were possibly being watched and she didn't want to put her father in any unnecessary danger.

„I don't know. Why don't we call everybody and get them here. That way we can explain everything once and then get to work." Castle agreed and after having breakfast and getting dressed Kate called Esposito, Ryan and Johnson and they all agreed to meet at the loft a half hour later.

At around one everybody was in Castle's office where he had transferred the photos of the bug onto the big screen. Together they figured out that the only difference between this one and any other was that it had a very long range. Which meant that whoever was listening could be anywhere in Manhattan.

„What's the point of trashing your apartment if they were also listening?" Sarah asked when they were done explaining what happened.

„Either someone planted the thing a few weeks ago, but didn't learn anything since I've hardly been there, and got impatient or they put it there last night after coming up empty in their very thorough search of my apartment. There's no way to know for sure right now." Kate sighed. They weren't getting anywhere. Ryan had somehow managed to pull traffic cam footage from the night before, in Beckett's neighborhood, but hadn't been able to find anything out of the ordinary.

„If only we knew what they were looking for." Castle started.

„That's what we need to focus on right now. I don't think there's really a point in looking for who did it. We know it's one of Bracken's people." Kate continued.

„He's getting impatient and if we don't stop him soon, he's going to start killing again. Starting with one of us." Rick finished. It was silent, while everybody thought about what to do next.

Beckett broke the silence first, „Alright. Ryan, Espo you two go talk to my neighbors. See if they saw or heard anything last night. Meanwhile, Castle, Johnson and I'll go to my apartment and pack all the stuff that's related to my mother's-"

„OUR mothers'" Sarah interrupted. Kate looked at her apologetically and continued.

„Sorry. Our mothers' murders, including all the boxes I have that used to belong to my mom. We'll bring everything back here," she looked at Castle to see if that was alright with him and at his nod continued, „That way we can look through it again and see if we missed anything." It was a long shot, but that's all they could do in that moment.

Two hours later they were all back at the loft, looking through files and calendars. Sarah was shocked to see how much there was to go through. It also gave her some insight into Beckett's long search for justice and made her realize that she probably wouldn't have gotten very far by just looking through her mother's case file. Soon it was time for Kate and Rick to go and have dinner with Jim and Ryan and Esposito left at the same time. As they were making their way to the front door Kate saw Johnson looking back at all the files that were lying on the floor and tables.

„Do you mind if I-… you know what never mind." The young detective shook her head and followed them towards the door.

„Stay." Beckett stated and Sarah saw Castle nod next to her. „We've looked at these files over and over again. Maybe take a look at my mom's notes. That's where we're most likely to have missed something and a fresh pair of eyes can only help." They agreed that she'd stay at the loft until Rick and Kate came back from dinner.

...

Kate and Rick entered the restaurant. It was Jim's birthday the following week, but he was going to be out of town that day so they decided to celebrate early and since he doesn't like to do anything big on his birthdays they agreed to just go to dinner at a nicer restaurant than usual.

They spotted Jim right away and made their way to the table.

„Katie, Rick it's good to see you again." He hugged his daughter and shook her fiancé's hand. Jim noticed that Kate seemed a little tense, but he wasn't going to mention it. They hadn't seen each other in a few weeks and he didn't want to ruin the evening by making them bring up whatever was going on.

„It's good to see you too, Dad." They talked and ate for hours. Jim saw the tension slowly leaving his daughter's body as the evening went on and he was glad. They ended up having fun despite what had happened the night before. Rick kept fishing for stories about Kate's childhood and, although Kate was certain he'd heard them all before, Jim was more than happy to share. Before they paid the bill Kate remembered the tape in her coat pocket. She took it out and handed it to her father.

„Rick and I were going through some old boxes the other night and found this. I must've taken it by accident when we cleaned out my room and mom's old stuff."

„I didn't even know that was missing. To be honest I don't think I've seen that in almost forty years. I think I gave that to her on our first valentine's day together." Jim was smiling at the memory. Kate was relieved to see that it truly made him happy to think about past moments with his wife. Up until a few years ago the smile he had while thinking about her never fully reached his eyes. She looked at Castle when she felt his hand slip into hers. The look he gave her told her he was thinking the same thing. They were also hoping that Bracken could be caught without having to implicate Jim in any way. Kate couldn't wait for the day when she could finally knock on her father's door and tell him that justice was served, that it was all finally over.

They parted ways outside the restaurant. Jim had parked his car a few blocks away and decided to walk. It was a nice night and he wanted to enjoy it. He put his hands in his pockets and felt the tape. The memory of giving it to Johanna made him smile as he walked towards the street his car was parked on. All of a sudden he got a bad feeling. Like someone was following him. Jim shook his head. He was probably just being paranoid. The street was quite crowded. More so than it usually was at this hour. That had to be it. Still, he looked around for reassurance. Unfortunately, not seeing anything out of the ordinary had the opposite effect on him.

Either someone was watching him, or aging was starting to make him seriously paranoid. When he finally reached it Jim got into his car and drove off.

* * *

**_Earlier that day, somewhere in New York:_**

„Boss you have to hear this." A man in a suite barged into one of Senator Bracken's many offices. He quickly got up from behind his desk and closed the door, making sure no one could hear them.

„What the hell are you doing in here? Didn't I tell you not to show your face unless you had the tape?! Which I know you don't since apparently tossing a certain person's place wasn't as helpful as it should have been. You better have a damn good reason for being here. Now speak!"

The man visibly shrunk before him. Bracken was slowly running out of competent people to do the dirty jobs. Then again, that wasn't exactly true. He was saving the best for last. When the time came Kate Beckett was not going to survive another attempt at her life.

„I…I know where the tape is. Sh- She gave it to her father. She thinks it belongs to him. Boss, Jim Beckett has the tape."

„Are you sure it is really that tape? Because if it's not, someone might pay you a visit and unload their gun on you. And trust me, you WILL see it coming." He had to be blunt these days. Patience didn't get him anywhere anymore.

„Has to be."

Bracken smirked. All of this was finally going to be over. Kate Beckett had no idea that tape even existed and her beloved father would soon be the victim of an unfortunate accident. He was so close.

* * *

**Voilà. **

**Hope you liked it. It's finally getting interesting. Again, do you think it's the tape Bracken is looking for or is it one that really did belong to Jim?**

**Have a good weekend.**

**O.**


	7. Chapter 7

***Updated on April 22nd***

** I really liked last week's episode, but until that Locksat/Castle's disappearing act - Arc is over I won't be able to fully enjoy the show...anyway, all that to say that I still feel like my favorite tv show has been somewhat ruined. Does anybody also feel that way or am I overreacting?**

**Aaaand here comes another chapter, because unfortunately school starts again tomorrow and then who knows when I'll update again – Enjoy.**

* * *

_**Previously**:_

_Bracken smirked. All of this was finally going to be over. Kate Beckett had no idea that tape even existed and her beloved father would soon be the victim of an unfortunate accident. He was so close._

* * *

„..Cass-…cassett..recor-…recording – cassette recording…" incoherent mumblings are what awoke Castle in the middle of the night. He had his arm draped around Kate's middle and was loosely holding her to him, which usually allowed her to sleep very peacefully, yet in that moment her sleep seemed to be anything but peaceful. He propped himself up on one arm and looked at her, debating what to do. She hadn't had any nightmares in a while and this didn't even sound like one. It just sounded like she was dreaming. The weird thing though, was that she was speaking. Castle knew for a fact that she did NOT sleep-talk, or trust him, she wouldn't ever hear the end of it. _Cassette recording – _What did that have to do with anything? Rick saw his fiancé get agitated and decided that waking her would be best.

„Kate. Hey Honey, wake up." he shook her shoulder gently and placed a light kiss to her temple, hoping that would do it. A few seconds later she was awake.

„What's going on?" Kate groaned, wondering why the hell he was waking her at this hour.

„You okay? You were talking in your sleep and - I don't know it looked like you weren't sleeping well."

„So you decided to wake me? And I was NOT sleep-talking." she was almost pouting and if Castle hadn't still been wondering what it was about that cassette recording she was talking about, he would've told her she looked cute grumpy, which would have earned him a punch in the shoulder.

He decided to ignore her question. „You were saying _Cassette recording _over and over again."

„Really?"

„Yeah, you don't remember?"

„No. That's weird." She frowned.

„You must've been dreaming about something."

„Yeah, but for the life of me I can't remember what I- Wait!" Kate grabbed his arm. „Montgomery was there. I was still doing patrol. It was- he found me in the archives looking at my mom's case, but-"

„What does that have to do with a cassette recording?"

„I don't know."

„Do you remember what he said?"

„No." There had to be a reason she was dreaming of Montgomery, but if she couldn't remember what he said it wouldn't help her.

„Come on. Let's go back to sleep and maybe it'll come back to you in the morning." Kate was reluctant to lay back down and the second her head hit the pillow she sat up again. Castle looked at her confused, as she started to make sense of the dream she'd had.

„I DO know what he said. It wasn't just a dream, I was having a flashback. Montgomery, I asked him if he knew my mom and he said he knew her case was unsolved. Then it was like he was urging me to look further than just her case file. He asked me if I'd looked through her personal belongings, old notebooks, journals and–" she stopped, her eyes widening.

„And what?"

„And cassette recordings! He mentioned cassette recordings. At the time I didn't get why he seemed so interested, but now…"

„Now we know he was involved."

„Exactly! What if he gave something to my mom? Evidence of some sort, to keep safe and he was trying to find out if I had it. That could be what they were looking for in my apartment."

„But we didn't find any recording in your mom's stuff- wait! The tape we gave to your dad. That has to be it."

„No, can't be. My dad remembered it as one he gave to my mom on valentine's day."

„Yeah, you're right. So that means that somewhere in your mom's old stuff there's another tape, one that could potentially prove that Bracken had her killed." Castle concluded.

„Castle." he looked up and immediately forgot that they could be getting really close to catching the son of a bitch, because his soon to be wife had gone whiter that the sheets.

„What is it?" he asked worried, getting closer to her as she squeezed his hand. He hadn't seen her like that since…he couldn't even remember.

„My dad. We gave the tape to my dad." she managed to get out, almost gasping at each word.

„So?"

„So, we found a bug right after we were talking about giving the tape to him. Which means that whoever was listening heard us. God, Castle that's what they were looking for and they heard us say we were going to return it to my dad." by the time she was done explaining she was running around the bedroom, gathering her clothes and putting them on as fast as she possibly could.

„Kate, calm down. We know it's not the cassette they were looking for."

„Maybe. But THEY don't know that. And do you remember the state of my apartment? Bracken's desperate. Meaning he'll do anything to get to that tape. Including…" she was frantic, running through the office into the living room, finding her shoes beside the couch, putting them on. Castle, who was following her, finally caught on.

„Including breaking into your dad's place to find it." He was now desperately trying to put his shoes on while Kate was already at the door.

„It's most likely the last thing tying Bracken to my mom's murder and they think I handed it over to my dad!" Kate panicked.

Fifteen very long minutes later they were pulling up to Jim Beckett's house.

* * *

**To be continued soon.**

**O.**


	8. Chapter 8

**I'm not gonna mention 'you know what' because the rant that's sure to happen if I do would end up being longer than the actual chapter. Just know that #IStandWithStana ! **

**Join me on twitter Ori2106 to see what else I have to say on the matter. (I got lots to say!)**

**Enjoy.**

* * *

**_Previou__sly__: _**

_Fifteen very long minutes later they were pulling up to Jim Beckett's house._

* * *

Kate had barely turned off the ignition as she leapt out of the car and ran towards the house, pulling her gun when she noticed that the door was ajar. She had handed Castle her backup piece in the car so she knew he was right behind her. What she wasn't prepared for though, was the fear that took over her body for a few seconds as she made her way through the door silently. Afraid of what she might find walking in. Afraid that her dad could already be dead. They walked in as quickly, but quietly as possible. All the lights were out and the house was silent. They cleared the house, not finding anyone. It looked about as bad as Kate's apartment had days before. The door to Jim's bedroom was closed and Kate couldn't bring herself to open it. She was terrified of what they might find on the other side of it. Castle stepped forward and was about to reach for the handle when they heard a noise and saw the lights turning on downstairs. Cop instincts took over in that moment and Beckett and Castle made their way down the stairs, guns drawn.

„Katie?! You scared me. What are you doing here?" it was Jim. Kate had never been so relieved in her life and she quickly made her way down the remaining steps to embrace her dad.

„Thank god you're okay!" she murmured as he held her close.

Jim pulled back after a moment and looked at her, worried. „Why wouldn't I be?"

„Didn't you see the living room?!" Jim looked to his right and gasped.

„What-…"

„Dad, we need to talk." Castle was already opening the door to lead them through it and Jim had no choice, but to follow, still waiting for some sort of explanation from either his daughter or her fiancé.

„Katie, do you know who did this?" Jim was worried. He didn't know what to think. His house had been ransacked and his daughter and her fiancé don't seemed to be too surprised. What had they even been doing there in the first place? It was the middle of the night after all. Something told him it had to do with the bad feeling of being followed that he'd had the night before.

„We'll explain everything at the loft. Right now we need to go." Kate urged him into the passenger seat of her car as Castle got into the back seat. A few seconds later they were off. On the way back Kate took the least direct way to get to the loft, so she could make sure nobody was following them.

„Okay now would you please tell me what's going on here?" Jim asked when they got to the loft. He was sitting at the dining room table with Kate while Rick got them something to drink. Kate sighed and started talking. She hadn't been planning on ever telling her dad everything about the case and she still wasn't going to. All she did was tell him that they were getting close to the person responsible for Johanna's death and that there was one last piece of evidence out there tying that person to the murders.

„And…what? They think I have that evidence?" he asked incredulously. How would that even be possible?

„Well, we know now that what they're looking for is a cassette. We don't know exactly what's on it, but we know that they think you have it. They know we handed you a tape the other night and they think that's it. Hence the current state of your house. What we need to do now is find the actual tape Br-…they're looking for." The one thing they'd silently agreed not to mention was Bracken.

„Apparently mom had it."

* * *

**Voilà. Hope you liked it. (It's not quite done)**

**I'm working on a new story. One that is set between my dream S8 ending and S9 beginning... **

**Channelling all my rage (about 'you know what') into writing it so it might actually turn out better than my other stories. At least I hope so.^^  
Let me know if you'd be interested. I'll post it either way, but it might get me to write it more quickly if the review button gets clicked;)**

**O. **


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